COACHING CORNER: Achieve peace of mind by pressing the reset button

If so, you’re not alone. Life moves fast and even though we may have questions, if we don’t take time to think we can end up being caught in our day-to-day routines. This can lead to a pattern of behaviour that fuels the status quo, meaning we focus on what we’re doing instead of thinking about what we’re doing.

This mindset can result in blinders that don’t allow space to ask ourselves if what we’re doing today is what we really want for our future. When we don’t ask these questions to challenge the status quo, we risk hard-wiring our belief system to keep working hard and hope that things somehow will get better tomorrow.

From my experience coaching business professionals and leaders, I have observed highly-skilled professionals who become trapped on this treadmill. Some acknowledge that they feel trapped and suggest that there are no options, they don’t see any, or they rationalize that life is supposed to be hard.

Why? There are many reasons, from change being viewed as scary, thoughts of giving up being perceived as bad, or gaps in self-confidence.

As a professional coach, when I have a client presenting the above symptoms it can be a wonderful opportunity to help them pause for a moment and consider what a reset could look like for them. This can vary from creating a new beginning in their current job and career to exploring alternative career options.

The purpose for pressing the reset button is to achieve internal peace of mind. This can help a person take an inventory and stock of what they’re doing today and to determine what changes, new knowledge, skills and outcomes would increase their internal peace.

The interesting thing about pressing the reset button is that there’s no right nor wrong outcome; it’s meant to step back and reflect, get off the treadmill for a moment, and explore whether there are things to consider or do differently. Ultimately, it’s up to each of us to define our career fulfilment.

One reset activity I’ve explored with professionals in a coaching setting is to ask five questions. How they answer these questions helps us determine the next steps.

I pre-frame these questions with their purpose, to help the person challenge their internal belief system. Each question typically generates a conversation, as there are no yes or no responses. If you do these by yourself, write out your answers, and if you don’t have a coach consider having a conversation with a trusted adviser about your motivation for doing this exercise. Discuss your responses and your goal to get their input, suggestions and questions.

Pressing the career reset button:

P — On a typical day, what degree of passion does your career bring you?

E — How does your career meet your expectations for growth, learning, impact, creativity and interests?

A — Do the daily activities of your current job/career provide you with a sense of purpose?

C — How connected are you to the things that matter most to you, such as family and community?

E — When it’s all said and done, will your career provide you the lasting memories you want when you end your work life?

The answers to these questions often lead to more questions. The goal of this exercise is to uncover some of the problems that result when a person feels trapped in their job or career.

Many times, when we change how we think about something or develop new coping skills we see things differently, leading to new decisions and actions. Many may not need to find a new career to find peace. Pressing our reset button to define the type of career we want to have and enjoy can help us find more joy and excitement.

Bill Howatt is chief of research and development, workforce productivity, Morneau Shepell, and co-founder of the V1 coaching system. He lives in the Annapolis Valley.